The Bet
by Miss-Savvi
Summary: Grell cashes in on a bet he had made with his superior. Although he detests with every fiber of his being, William T. Spears is a man of his word. Story now includes fear, confusion and a case that is too much like Jack the Ripper for Will's liking.
1. Chapter 1

William glared at himself in the mirror with disdain, feeling more foolish by the second. He closed his eyes, carefully counting down the minutes when there would be a loud knock at the door and a headache would commence.

Why had he made that bet to begin with? Will frowned, combing back a piece of unruly hair that had dared to stray into his eyes. Thinking back on it, the question should have been, why did he…no _how _could he _lose _that bet?

"_William~" The singsong voice was all too familiar right now. He felt a migraine approaching via Grell Sutcliffe. _

"_What are you doing in my office?" it was a question that he had asked many times before. A question to which the answer would vary. Still, no matter what Grell said in response, it was always foolish. Will was beginning to wonder why on earth he even asked that question any more. Out of habit, he told himself. _

"_Do I need a reason to visit my friend on such a lovely spring morning?" Grell skipped towards the desk, resting his head in his hands upon his superior's paperwork . Will emitted a sigh of disapproval which Grell interrupted. _

"_Really, William. Am I that much of a burden to you?" golden eyes flicked upwards to meet with green ones. A smile passed Grell's lips. _

"_For you information, Mr. Sutcliff," _

"_Miss."_

"_What?"_

"_That would be Miss Sutcliffe to you." Grell said, resting a hand on his hip in the most feminine way possible. Will rolled his eyes._

"_Mr. Sutcliff," he said again, adding extra emphasis on the Mr. "for your information, yes, you do need a reason to see me this morning. I am very busy with work…and to answer your other question, yes, you are an incredible burden. I would not be drowning in papers were it not for you." he stated coldly. Grell pouted. _

"_William! How can you be so mean? After all, I came all the way from across the building to ask you something…" the tone of the man's voice was genuinely hurt, which almost made Will feel sorry for him. Almost. _

"_Well…what is it?" he asked._

"_You and me, dinner at your house, tonight." Will furrowed an eyebrow, cleared his throat, and responded. _

"_No. I'm far too busy." _

"_What could you possible be so busy with that you can't spare an hour of your time to see a friend?" the patience he had for Grell was wearing thin. _

"_I'm busy with paperwork."_

"_What kind of paperwork?" Grell smiled, seating himself on the edge of the desk. He flipped through the large stack of papers next to him, awaiting a response. _

"_The kind that needs to get done or I lose my job, Sutcliffe." Grell threw his hands in the air, and strutted away from the desk. _

"_Work, work, work! That's all you ever do, Will. Don't you get bored of being so…boring?" _

"_Perhaps I would not have so much work to do if you stayed out of trouble, Grell." Will replied through clenched teeth. "I'm still filling out forms on the Jack the Ripper case, which, need I remind you, you caused. Single handedly."_

"_Madame Red did help, you know." _

"_Regardless, she is now dead, meaning all responsibility in the case falls upon your shoulders, but, as it would appear you are incapable of filling out the paperwork for the case, because it falls under my department, I got stuck with it." the dark haired man concluded, shooting Grell a venomous glance before he said in a tone that left little room for argument, "Now, you will leave my office, and return to your own workstation. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Sutcliff."_

_Though the words sounded finalised, Will knew that Grell could easily slip into any available gaps he had made in the conversation, which he did immediately after his superior had finished talking. _

"_What about a bet, Will?" _

"_What in heavens are you talking about?" _

"_How about we split your paperwork in half, and if you finish first, then I promise not to 'inconvenience' you for a week," Will's ears perked up at the sound of those words. _

"_I'm listening."_

"…_and if I win…you agree to have me over to dinner at your house tomorrow night." Will thought for no more than a moment._

"_Fine." He quickly divided his workload in half, carefully counting to be sure that they had the same amount of papers. "Here, now return to your office, and do not bother me again until you are finished…and you are not allowed to ask anyone else for help, got it?" They shook hands, Will immediately wiping his off on the side of his pants as though touching Grell was like touching sulphuric acid. _

"_Yes, yes, of course!" Grell squealed, bounding towards the door. _

"_There's no way he'll finish in time." _

_. . . _

"_William~" for a second time that day, or rather, evening, the horrible noise invaded his office. _

"_What is it, Mr. Sutcliffe?" he asked without looking up from his papers, which were running low. A good sign._

_Not good enough, though._

"_Guess who owes me a date?"_

"_I don't know…who?" he muttered, still not glancing up until he heard Grell say,_

"_You, silly!" _

"_Grell, I believe I already told you that I would do no such thing."_

"_Uh, uh, uh," the other reaper shook a finger at him. "Did you forget our bet?" Golden eyes widened further, No…it was impossible! How could Grell have finished BEFORE him?_

"_There's no way that you are done." As though he'd expected those words, Grell plopped a stack of papers down upon the desk on top of the other man's work. Will immediately snatched them up, hyper analysing them for any mistakes, errors, misspellings…anything! They were flawless. He groaned, and buried his head in his hands. Will was seriously beginning to question his sanity when it came to Grell._

"_So does seven thirty sound alright tomorrow?" Grell asked. The other man nodded. Though it was perhaps the farthest thing from what he wanted to do, William T. Spears was a man of his word. _

_. . . _

And that was where he found himself, cashing in on his part of the bet by having Grell over for dinner. He steadied himself on the sink, lifting his head to look in the mirror. A glance of sheer annoyance stared back at him.

"Just two hours. You can handle that." he told himself, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose just as that ominous knock on the door finally arrived.

Will braced himself for the worst as he stood at the doorway of his small home in the centre of London. The word "home" was questionable. It was more of a temporary dwelling until the recent string of murders that had been appearing in the streets had ended. After all, what better place to investigate than in the middle of the crime scene…it made his job all the more easier. They'd been short handed at work, meaning that the shinigami who would normally file papers were also collecting souls in the city.

With caution, he twisted the handle, just waiting for Grell to leap into his arms wearing a dress, or something of that sort. When nothing happened, he opened his eyes. Sure enough it was Grell, but he was simply dressed in the same fashioned clothes he wore to work. There was the distinct smell of currant and jasmine emanating from him though…Will would describe it as almost a seductive scent if he didn't know any better.

"Hello, Mr. Sutcliffe." he mustered a polite tone as a wave of relief swept through him that, at least thus far, Grell had not done anything stupid.

"I had quite the time trying to find your house, so I'm not counting the minutes before I arrived as part of our date." Will's eye twitched at the sound of the word 'date'.

"This is not a date, it is dinner."

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say." Grell smiled, tossing his coat into his 'friend's' arms. Will hung it up on the coat hanger before walking to the kitchen.

Although Will would never admit it, even to himself, he was not the best chef. No, his specialties were in far less culinary fields. He'd managed to put together a decent enough meal for the two of them, though.

"I've made us minestrone soup with rye bread…is that alright?" He asked, looking towards Grell who was already making himself quite comfortable on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

"What? No meat, William? Or would you rather save _that _for the bedroom?" he threw his head back in laughter as a steady blush crept to the darker haired man's cheeks.

"Mr. Sutcliffe…I have no clue what you think you are talking about but I have no intentions of doing _any _such activity."

"Ah, relax, William…I was only joking. But…" Grell withdrew a small stack of papers from behind his back. "I'll need you to sign these."

Will's eyebrows furrowed as he took the stack of papers, very confused at what they were for, and slightly annoyed that Grell seemed to have time to get foolish things done but not his own work.

"What are they?" he asked, skimming through a few of them.

"Just sign the bottom of the last page. It just says that you agree to spend a full two hours with me, and other terms of our date."

"Dinner" Will growled.

"_Date_." Grell insisted, waving a hand in the air nonchalantly. "No need to read through silly details, just sign it please."

Determined to get the time he was obligated to spend with the other man over with, Will signed at the bottom of the page, quickly handing the papers over to Grell who took them with a small, ominous, squeal.

"Dinner is ready, Mr. Sutcliffe." he said sternly.

"Oh, Will, please, call me by my first name~" Grell said with a smile.

"Very well then…Grell, dinner is almost ready."

. . .

Will's eyes darted up to the clock standing in the far corner of the parlour. Twenty-five minutes. It had only been twenty-five minutes. A sigh fell from his lips as he realised that he was stuck there with his co-worker for another hour and thirty-five minutes. They had hardly touched the food, Will because he knew better than to eat his own cooking, and Grell was too busy talking to notice that food was even in front of him.

"…so anyway, enough about me, how are you, William?" Will faded in and out of the other man's voice until he heard his name.

"Fine." he stated. Grell gave him a strange look to show that he was unsatisfied with the reply.

"Anything new?" he asked.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite." Silence settled over the two briefly as Will turned his attention to the clock once more. A half hour down, an hour and a half to go.

"You're boring, you know that?" the comment startled him, although it was one to be expected, Will still found it rude to simply say things without thinking.

"Why do you say that?" he found himself snapping. Grell rolled his eyes.

"Because all you do is work, work, work! I can't _think _of anything more boring!"

"Well if I'm so boring, why are you here?" a frown crossed Will's features. Grell thought a moment, then answered,

"You are not allowed to spend a Friday night all alone, and before you even _try _to tell me that you had plans, I know that you don't."

"How did you-"

"Your planner. I snuck a peek at it while you were out last week." Grell winked. Will almost spit out the water he'd been sipping on.

"Grell! That is my personal property! You have no right to be going through my things."

Grell sighed, "I don't know what you mean about 'personal'…there weren't any juicy details, or secret rendezvous with anyone or anything. Like I said before, just work, work, _work_!" he threw his hands up in the air at the end of his speech.

"Well, perhaps if _you _did not cause so much trouble, I may actually _have _some free time!" Will snapped back. Grell cringed, not prepared for such a harsh response. "Honestly, Grell. Out of all the Death Gods in existence, you are the only one I know of who is completely incapable of getting the job done on time because you always choose to partake in frivolous distractions as opposed to actually working. Thus, for some god unknown reason, _I _clean up after you." he stood, sliding his chair away from the table. Grell stayed sitting, looking at his superior with eyes welling with tears. A strange feeling loomed over William then…guilt?

"Er…Don't cry." He said in a tone that was far from comforting, and only made those tears begin to fall down Grell's face.

"b-but," he stuttered, sniffing helplessly. Will crossed over to his side of the table, standing next to the troublemaker. He could not say that he understood Grell, or his feminine mannerisms, but even he could see that he'd come off as a bit harsh…even though that had been his intention. "Wi-Will…do you mean th-that?" Will took a deep breath. Of course he _had _meant it, but he had a feeling that answering the question truthfully would only end in more tears.

"No. I apologise, Grell. I was just speaking without thinking." he said in a bit of a softer voice. Instantly Grell's tears dried up, and his arms were wrapped around Will's shoulders. The dark haired man felt his face grow hot, but he prayed that his cheeks weren't too red.

"Oh William! I knew you'd never say something so mean about me for real~" he squealed, unhanding his superior who grumbled in protest.

"Yes, well…are you done eating?"

"Hmm…?" Grell asked, not noticing that food had even been placed in front of him. "Oh no! Here I was, so bust talking that I didn't even eat!"

"Well, do not worry about it." Will said quietly, and added in even less of an audible tone, "I'm not much of a cook anyway."

"Nonsense! I'm sure you're a great cook!" Grell said happily.

"No, really, Grell." Will stuttered nervously, having already tasted his creation, and finding it not the least bit to his liking. "What would you like to do now?"

"Oh~," Grell smiled a very unnerving smile. "You're asking _me_?" Instantly William regretted saying anything.

"It must be work appropriate, Mr. Sutcliffe." he added and a look of disappointment fell over the redhead's features.

"Fine…and here I was going to offer you a massage since you're always so…" Will hardly noticed Grell moving until he felt two hands on his shoulders, rubbing down his back. "Tense." Grell finished, whispering dangerously close to his ear.

"That is enough, Mr. Sutcliffe."

"Aw…what happened to calling me Grell like I asked you to?" Grell pouted, removing his hands from the other shinigami's shoulders.

"Alright then _Grell_, what would you like to do that is work appropriate?" Will muttered through clenched teeth.

"What does that mean?" Grell asked, batting his eyelashes.

"It _means _that if it's something you ," he thought a moment, considering that nothing would be "inappropriate" in Grell's standards. "if it's an activity that _I _would not find appropriate at work, it is off limits here as well." he stated matter-of-factly. Grell stared at him for a moment, then said,

"The park!"

"Huh?"

"Let's go to the park!" the look on the redhead's face could be described as sheer joy, while the look on Will's was detest.

"Grell, really now…by the time we got to the park our time would have run out. Besides, I am here investigating _murders_. When there are madmen on the loose the last place I want to be is out there with them. Be logical." the look of happiness faded.

"Oh…" Grell muttered, eyes casting to the ground. For a moment it looked as though he would cry again. "Well…there's no rules saying that we _have _to go our separate ways after two hours, you know…Will?" William's eyes darted to the clock. It'd been exactly an hour since he'd signed the ridicules papers that Grell had drawn up for him. Hardly enough time to make it to the park. He looked from the face of the clock to the window, and his stomach dropped.

Before Grell could blink, Will had flung open the front door where sheets of rain were falling from the sky. His field of vision would not have been more than a metre in this weather, and he had a feeling that it was only going to get worse.

"Wow…look at all that rain." Grell said, wandering to his superior's side. William groaned, and ran a hand through his hair.

_Why me…of all people…why me? And why with him…_ he thought to himself. Of all the situations to be trapped in, this was quite possibly the worst. Yes, in fact, aside from being trapped with that damned demon of a butler, to William T. Spears, this was the absolute worst situation in the world.

"William?" Grell asked with a pout. He knew the question that was coming next. Oh death gods he knew what Sutcliffe was going to ask.

"Yes…?" Will responded coldly. Grell fidgeted a moment, doing some sort of schoolgirl-ish dance.

"Um…is there any chance that well…_maybe _I could spend the night tonight?" As much as Will wanted to respond "I'd rather have my fingernails ripped off one by one than spend one night with the likes of you" he couldn't bring himself to do so. Letting Grell walk home in weather like this…he shuttered to think of the consequences. The _best possible scenario is that Grell would catch a cold and be unable to work for a week and the worst…Will shook his head, not wanting to think of all the trouble Grell could get into. So, after a few moments of silence, he finally spoke,_

"_Considering the weather…I suppose I could allow you to spend the night here…" Grell's eyes lit up and he let out a loud cry of, _

"_Really? Oh! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" the next thing Will knew his underling had his arms flung around his shoulders in a tight embrace. _

"_One night." he muttered. "And you're sleeping on the couch." _


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: If you read the first version of this chapter and are no reading this let me apologise to you for the first monstrosity. I took a total turn from funny to serious which was not cool…in my defence I was writing it late at night after one of the worst days I'd ever had, hence the seriousness. Anyway, this is the better version, and again thank you Carmenliana for giving me the opening line of this chapter. And thanks to everyone who reviewed this story.

"But William! I am a lady, and ladies do _not_ sleep on the couch!" Grell stated with a dramatic gasp. Will rolled his eyes, deciding it was best to let Grell think he was a female then launch into an intense argument over why he was not.

"Fine, fine…" he muttered, "You may sleep on the floor." Grell's jaw practically hit the floor in shock.

"William T. Spears!" he screeched, flailing his arms madly. "Ladies do not sleep on the couch, much less the _floor_! I can't believe you would even suggest such a thing, and to think I came here to spend time with you!" Will was trying to ignore the fact that he had not had Grell over to his house by choice, but that was beside the point. In his mind, he thought that Grell was lucky he was allowing him to spend the night. There were a hundred other shinigami who would turn him out onto the streets without a second thought. He was scarcely listening to what Grell was saying and only caught the words "…I can't believe you…this is so rude…and you can bet that others will hear about this." the last part made his eyes widen, and instantly a hand was covering Grell's mouth. The redhead continued to talk, seemingly unaware that his voice was being muffled. Finally, after about a minute, he silenced Without moving his hand, Will spoke,

"No one, and I repeat _no one _is to hear of this. If word got out that I allowed you to spend the night with me at an investigation scene I could lose my job. Promise me that, Grell."

"Ok…" Grell mumbled and finally Will took his hand away. "On one condition!"

"Mr. Sutcliffe! This is _serious _no 'conditions'. My job is at stake here, don't you understand?" the tone William spoke in was venomous, but Grell did not take the hint.

"A kiss."

"What?"

"A kiss. One little kiss, and I _promise _not to tell anyone. It will be as if this night never even happened."

"Grell this is not the time for idiotic deals. You will not tell anyone else in the organisation and that is final!" for some reason, Will's anger was humorous, perhaps it was because his face was turning the same shade of red as Grell's hair with every passing second.. A catlike grin passed over the troublemaker's face.

"So you accept then?" Will frowned.

"That is most certainly _not _what I said. Are you even listening to me Sutcliffe? Have you any idea how much trouble I could get in if the head offices found out that you were with me, in the _Human Realm _tonight, or have you forgotten that you are forbidden from the city of London until your probation is completed for the Jack the Ripper case?" Will smirked triumphantly at this. In the back of his mind he knew that he could get in just as much trouble for allowing Grell to come over in the first place, but at the same time he had no intention of reporting anything unless Grell did first. Surely now that the redhead was reminded of this he would shut his mouth. Grell's smile quickly turned into a frown to match his superior's.

"But…William…"

"No buts, Sutcliffe. No means no." there was only a brief moment in which Will could celebrate victory, for just as soon as he thought that he had ended the conversation another devious smile passed over Grell's lips.

"Well…you _do _owe me a kiss _anyway_ but I was going to say that if you accepted that deal I would change it to one. But I suppose you're greedy and want at _least _two." A perplexed look overtook William's features.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, frankly afraid to know the answer.

"Well, William dear, when you signed those papers at the beginning of the night it clearly stated that when our date was over you owed me a kiss!" Grell giggled, obviously pleased with the fact that Will had overlooked the fine print of the contract. "You can look over the papers if you don't believe me."

"Give me those!" he ordered. Instantly they were in his hands, and he began to frantically flip through the pages. Sure enough, on the third page in in the last paragraph in the tiniest print that he had ever seen, there it was. "At the end of two hours, William owes Grell a kiss." his eyes flew to the clock. It was 9:27. He cursed himself in the head, for that meant that the deal was still valid.

"So are you ready, William?"

"Honestly, Grell…why do you wish to kiss someone who has absolutely no desire to return the gesture?" Will muttered, hoping to stall him for three more minutes.

"Say what you want, William~ You _know _you can't resist me!" he let out a small giggle. On the contrary, Will _could _resist him. In fact, he could resist him very easily, however, seeing that his stalling tactics were not really working, he let out a sigh.

"Alright, let's just get this over with."

"Tongue or no tongue?" Will's eyes widened, and he quickly said,

"Oh for heaven's sake no tongue!" and then, before Grell had a chance to ask anymore stupid question, he grabbed the man by the shoulders and their lips met in a short kiss. They stayed that way for about two seconds, but in that time Grell swore that their lips were on fire.

"There." Will said, glancing to the floor to hide the fact that he was blushing madly.

"That was amazing~" Grell said, biting his bottom lip with a shark like tooth.

"Yes, well…The time is up." he motioned to the clock, which now read 9:32. A frown overcame Grell's face, and he said in a tone so sad that even William was swayed by it,

"Alright…then I suppose I should sleep on the floor, huh?" he looked at the floor as he spoke, adding an air of even more disappointment to the situation.

"No Grell…" William began, scarcely sure of why he was saying what he was about to say, "…I suppose, given the circumstances of you being a guest and all, that you could sleep upstairs in my bed. I can sleep on the couch." The next thing he knew, arms were flung around his shoulders in an awkward hug that almost knocked him to the ground. "Oh! But William, the couch isn't comfortable at all!" he squealed dangerously close to Will's ear. The darker haired man pried Grell away, then stood, straightening his suit.

"I'll be fine." he stated. Grell frowned again, but it quickly turned into a devious grin. Frankly, that frightened Will. The redhead edged closer to his boss, resting his head on Will's shoulder.

"Well…I know it would be frightfully inappropriate but…" he stifled a small giggle before continuing, "We could _share _the bed." William's eyes widened at the thought of sharing his single sized bed with Grell Sutcliffe.

"Absolutely not!" he said without hesitation. Grell pouted.

"Aw! But I feel bad making you sleep down here, all by yourself!"

"Well it's not too late for you to sleep on the couch." Will stated instantaneously. Grell pouted, and mumbled,

"Fine, fine…I suppose it wouldn't be very ladylike of me to be sharing beds with every gentleman I meet, now would it?" there was a moment of silence in which William looked Grell over, not fully believing that he had actually kissed him. Then, Grell spoke again.

"Can I borrow a pair of pyjamas?"

"Honestly…why didn't you bring- oh never mind. They're in the bottom drawer of the wardrobe." he said, not sure if he really wanted Grell to be going through his belongings he added, "Do not touch anything else."

Grell made his way up the stairs with a yawn as Will walked over to the couch, sitting down. His eyes wandered around the room, and finally to the window outside. Rain no longer fell from the sky, meaning that Grell could go home now, and Will could get a good night's sleep in his own bed.

But he didn't say anything. Instead, he lay back on the couch, carefully setting his glasses on the floor next to him. He stared at the ceiling, questioning his sanity, and why, even though every fibre of his being protested, he had _enjoyed_ that kiss. Of course, he would hardly admit that to himself, let alone the man who was probably making a mess of his bedroom at the moment. Will shrugged, turning on his side.

"It is what it is…" he mumbled, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep as the clock struck midnight.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: So this is really strange, but those first two chapters were actually meant to be the entire story. In other words, I hadn't planned on writing more…and being as forgetful as I am, I forgot to set it as 'complete' so I got a bunch of reviews telling me to write another chapter. Who would have thought that that would happen. Anyway, by popular demand I guess I should continue this, eh?

* * *

Sunlight peeked in through a crack in the curtains, successfully awakening William, who pulled his coat (which he had been using as a blanket) over his head. It took a few minutes for him to realise that he was not on his own, comfortable, bed, but rather the rigid couch. He sat up, reaching for his glasses, as his back protested to sleeping in such conditions. Before he had time to adjust to the light, there was a loud clattering noise from the kitchen. William winced, remembering everything about the previous night, including the obligatory kiss with one Grell Sutcliffe. Begrudgingly he decided to get up to investigate what exactly was going on in the kitchen.

Every muscle in his body creaked as he tried to stand, and once or twice he was tempted to simply retire to his room and ignore whatever it was that was happening in the kitchen. Another loud clang made him decide against that.

"Good morning, William~" Grell smiled before Will could say anything. The kitchen wasn't a total mess, which relieved him. "I'm making breakfast right now, so go sit at the table." he frowned, and looked up at the redheaded nuisance who was still wearing his pyjamas.

"Did you make coffee?" He grumbled. William T. Spears was not a morning person, especially when the first thing he saw upon waking up was blinding sunlight, and his gender confused co-worker going through his carefully organised belongings. Grell stopped what he was doing for a moment,

"Yes, I already poured you some. It's on the table." Will furrowed his eyebrows, and frowned, unsure of whether or not to trust something made by him. After all, he wouldn't put it past Grell to slip something into his drink in some sort of sick attempt at seduction.

"Thank you." he said curtly, walking out of the kitchen and into the small dining room across from it. There, as Grell had said, he found a cup of coffee, still steaming. He also found the morning's newspaper set on the table, as well as a vase of fresh flowers, assumingly from the garden out back. Not quite sure what to think, he sat down, brining the cup to his lips. The print that stared back at him nearly made him spit out his coffee, for in bold letters across the top of the page it read:

**Gruesome Murder in London. Citizens Fear for Their Lives**

William's eyes widened. This was impossible, how could this have happened without him noticing…everything had been so…quiet in the past three weeks and now… He shook his head, sliding the chair away from the table.

"Grell, we have to go." he said, grabbing his coat from the couch.

"But I'm still making breakf-," the other man protested, putting another log into the wood burning stove.

"Now, Sutcliffe. This is serious." he snapped.

"But William, I'm sure whatever it is-," for a second time Grell was cut off. William walked out of the room, snatching the newspaper from the kitchen table.

"There was a murder last night, and people are going to have questions, I need to get to the office now, and you're coming with me. God so help me I am not leaving you alone in this city." Grell's eyes widened as his superior yanked him forward by shirt collar. "Now, you are to go upstairs, change as fast as possible, and come straight back down here, do you understand me?" he growled. Grell nodded quickly, and sprinted up the stairs.

Will crossed the kitchen, closing off the ventilation to the oven. Then, he continued to pace the room, repeating the same question over and over,

"How could this happen? How could this happen? How. Could. This. Happen!" his fingers dug into his palms, and he was scarcely sure that his appearance was anywhere near appropriate for work. That didn't matter, though. Not now, for there were far more serious issues at hand. Slowly, he sat on the couch again, running his hands through his hair.

It took him a moment to realise that he was not mad at Grell, and briefly he felt bad for yelling at him. Guilt for Sutcliffe didn't last long though, and soon images from the Jack the Ripper case began to flood his mind. Pictures of mutilated corpses, and blood filled his thoughts. In all of his years as a god of death, that was the only case that had ever affected him to the level of fear. This was because, during that time, the Grell Sutcliffe he knew (and despised) had turned into some sort of unstoppable monster who was killing for the fun of it. Will shook his head as the thought that maybe Grell did have something to do with this appeared. No.

He rose to his feet again, turning towards the staircase where a now fully dressed Grell walked down the steps yawning. William felt his stomach drop as that same uneasiness crept over him much like it had not so many weeks ago.

"Sutcliffe?" He said, successfully keeping a waver out of his voice. Green orbs looked at him, and he averted his gaze to the ground.

"Yes, William?" the darker haired man did not say anything for a moment, then decided against asking anything,

"Never mind. We need to be going." the redhead nodded, following quickly after his superior who cast a nervous glance over his shoulder. Surely Grell had learned by now that he could not just go around killing people…hadn't he? Besides, how could that man have had anything to do with it if he had been with Will the whole time? The thought that Grell, whom he knew not to be all that stealthy, could sneak out of the house, brutally mutilate and kill a young girl and return before he woke up was next to impossible…so why was doubt plaguing his mind?

* * *

Author's Note: Ok, this is very important and I need you guys to respond to this as soon as you can. Since it actually seems to be popular, I was thinking about continuing it. So please answer me:

1. Should there be more humour?

2. Or more darkness and confusion?

3. I'm going to write a similar crossover story between Kuroshitsuji and Godchild and I would like opinions on that.

Thanks much to everyone who has reviewed, you all are awesome

~ Savvi ~


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: So I totally decided how I am going to write this story now… even though anything beyond a second chapter was never supposed to happen! Oh well, I feel I must warn you that the themes may become a bit more… mature? Meaning violence and implied adult situations, etc… No more violence than is normal in Kuroshitsuji standards, though, so if you made it through the series, this isn't all that graphic. Thanks for all the reviews, I shall try to update quickly, so as not to keep you waiting.

Oh yes…and on a second note, for those of you who have read ayafangirl's story "When the Screams Have Gone", I hope it doesn't seem like I'm copying her…because this scene is similar to one of hers. And for those who have not read it, do so! It's an amazing story 3

. . .

Behind the closed office doors was an orchestra of chaos. Will could already hear it, and he knew exactly what it was about. He closed his eyes, preparing every ounce of patience he had for what was about to happen.

"No matter what, you are to stay silent. Is that understood?" he said to Grell who had been lingering behind him. The other man nodded, although he still was not quite sure as to why this was such a big deal. It was not as though there had never been a murder in London, and it definitely was not as though there would never be one again. He did not have time to ponder too long, though as Will lay his hand on the brass doorknob.

"Remember, silence." he said once more, a dangerous glare in his eyes. Again, Grell nodded, and the door opened with a squeak.

At first the noise was all too much to take in, it was dizzying, in fact. Soon, William found his vision, and glanced about the room. At least a dozen death gods were gathered in his office, each of them from a different sector of the England Division.

"Spears!" A large man stepped forward from the crowd, shoving the others out of his way with little regard, brows furrowed in anger. He smelled heavily of cigarette smoke and William had to keep from coughing as the man held out the same newspaper that he had just read. "What is the meaning of this?" he spat, shoving the paper in the younger man's face. Although he was disgusted by the man's actions, William remained quiet and stern in the face of unpleasantness (a skill he had picked up from dealing with Grell over the years).

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Harvard. It won't happen again." he said, forcing politeness, though on the inside he wanted nothing more than to tell the man off. Alexander Harvard, a particularly large being, mostly in width, was the head of the Liverpool division. He had died some years back of a lung disease. Apparently he hadn't learnt his lesson, for he was still a heavy smoker as a death god. His beady eyes stared at Will through leathery, thick lids. William hardly felt that Harvard had anything to do with _his _case, for they were both of the same ranking, but William was far better at maintaining balance than Harvard would ever be.

"Sorry? _Sorry_? Spears, 'sorry' does not atone for the fact that someone was murdered only a few streets away from your house!" Harvard said, pointing a sausage-like finger at the other man. "Mark me, Spears, the next slip up and I _will _have your position in the Association!"

he threatened. William was unfazed. There was a long line of death gods who would kill (no pun intended) to be head of the London division, but there was no way that they would take the job from him. No, apart from this incident, and the Jack the Ripper case, he had a clean record. The same could not be said for anyone else standing in the room.

"Perhaps we should leave that for _me _to decide." said a calm voice from the doorway. Instantly, William, Harvard, Grell, and the others in the office (who had been whispering rumours back and forth to one another) turned around. In front of them now stood a tall, thin man. He was dressed in a well tailored grey suit and ashen coloured blond hair was swept back much in the same fashion as William's was. Without taking his eyes from the crowd, he took a step forward, smirking at the much broader man.

"After all, Mr. Alexander Harvard, your record does not seem to be all that clean. Maybe you should turn to your own flaws before pointing out the ones of Mr. Spears, hmm?" the man's voice was professional but venomous at the same time. Harvard, who had been so confident the whole time was suddenly at a loss for words.

"…Y-yes, Mr. Devereux. My apologies, sir."

"Very well," the man uncrossed one arm from his chest and pointed towards the door. "I believe you have work of your own to attend to." without so much as a stutter, Harvard hurried out of the room.

"As for the rest of you," he paused a moment, dangerously calm features facing the crowd. "You may leave." there were a few murmurs of detest, but they quickly faded away as the last of them cleared the room leaving only William, Grell, and Mr. Devereux in the office.

Devereux looked William directly in the eyes, searching for any suspicions.

"So…Mr. Spears…it would appear that they are indeed correct." he picked up the paper briefly, smiled a little, then set it back upon the desk. "Can you offer any explanation to last night's events?" It took Will a moment to respond,

"Yes, sir. As you know I have taken up dwelling in the city to better investigate the murders that have been going on. Nothing had happened in a great deal of time, and last night I was very tired…it was a foolish error, sir. One that will not happen again, I assure you." he said, nodding his head at his superior who merely smiled in return.

"I like you, Spears. You're a fine worker, and your record is virtually spotless," he paused for just enough time for William to add a quick,

"Thank you, sir."

"Therefore, as long as you do not let any of these slip ups happen again…at least not for a while, you have nothing to worry about. The crime was not so big as to be reported to the entire Europe District. A minor mistake, really."

"Thank you, sir." William said again, a wave of relief sweeping over him.

"As gods of death, we normally are not allowed to interfere with human's until their time on earth has expired…but in certain situations, when humans decide to take the power of death into their own hands…then, we may intervene." a thin smirk crossed Devereux's face, silvery eyes flicking towards Grell.

"Isn't that right, Jack the Ripper?" Grell cringed a bit, and opened his mouth to speak, but he soon recalled William's words. Thankfully, Devereux turned his attention away from Grell and faced William again.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience of their idiocy , Mr. Spears." he said, laying a thin hand upon Will's shoulder. "Please, take the rest of the day off."

"Yes, sir. Thank you." and with that, Devereux turned on his heels, and sauntered out of the room with his head held high. Instantly the tension in the air dispersed, and Grell breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Well that was close…" he said softly, almost so softly that William did not hear him.

"What was that?"

"Oh…nothing." Grell forced a smile, and Will frowned. "Um…is there any chance that, maybe I could come back to your house with you? Just for the rest of the morning?" once more, the puppy-dog faces commenced. William rolled his eyes, but despite everything that had commenced, he _was _hungry, and he didn't feel much like cooking.

"Fine. Breakfast, and that is all." he said. Grell let out a small giggle, and gladly skipped out the door.

. . .

But it wasn't all. For as soon as they had finished clearing plates of eggs and some sort of pastry that William was not quite sure what it was, the redhead proceeded to list off ideas for the day.

"Maybe we could go to the park today? Since we didn't get a chance to yesterday, I mean…or we could walk around London, maybe get a drink or two? Of course, I'm not too sure that I would like to see you drunk…" he continued to talk, though the darker haired man's attention had loomed elsewhere. Another one of his talents was tuning Grell out, which he was doing fairly well until the other man invaded his personal space.

"So what do you think, William?" he giggled, resting his head in his hands and his elbows on the table. Will's thoughts were slowly pulled back to whatever it was that Grell had been talking about.

"Hmm?"

"I asked if you would like to go to the park today?" it took a mere second for him to answer.

"No."

"A walk around London?"

"No."

"A drink or two later tonight?" the answer remained the same,

"No." Grell pouted, and crossed his arms.

"Why are you so cold, William? Is it that much trouble to spend time with a dear friend of yours?" William held back a sarcastic laugh at the 'dear friend' part. He considered Grell to be more of a…necessary nuisance. Alright, take off the 'necessary' part. He frowned as the reaper's eyes narrowed and a devilish smile spread across his face. Green orbs focused upon him for a moment, like an animal eyeing its prey. William shifted in his chair.

"Oh I see…well, perhaps I should pay a little visit to Sebas-Chan…since it's obvious that you're too serious for any," he paused, licking his lips, "fun."

Suddenly, William stood, rage taking over his features. Grell cringed as he spoke in a voice sharp enough to cut glass.

"Absolutely not! You will do no such thing, Sutcliffe." he glared at the other man as he spoke, voice filled with hatred towards the demonic butler. "One would think that you would have enough pride as a god of death than to chase after demons…but it would appear not." again, Grell cringed, eyes casting to the floor. "Further more, you are not even supposed to _be _here. Allowing you to stay over night was mistake enough…" he concluded softly, more to himself than to Grell. Still, it was clear that the other reaper had heard him, for soon he was staring pathetically at the ground.

"…You know that I really do like him, don't you, William? " He asked with a small sniff. This wasn't fair. Crying was a total disregard of the rules. Now, William T. Spears, a respected god of death was not one to be swayed by emotion but something about Grell Sutcliffe was different than other circumstances. Perhaps it was the way tears would build up on the rims of his eyes like tiny diamonds, or the way he would become so quiet and pathetic looking. It was a tactic that even the most professional reaper around could not resist.

Will let out a long sigh,

"Yes, Grell. I know that you do." he had to grit his teeth together to keep the disgust from his voice. "I'm not sure _why _you do but…"

"Oh, but William~" Grell started up in his normal, flirtatious voice that had returned from its brief vacation. "What is there _not _to like about Sebby?" a dreamy look crossed his face, and his hands clasped together as he day dreamed.

"He's so mysterious. Well built, handsome, well spoken, and oh~" he stopped a moment, doing a quick spin. "And those _eyes _are the most beautiful shade of red~" William frowned, and pushed the glasses up in front of his own uniquely coloured eyes.

"Perhaps that is your opinion, Grell, but mark these words," his tone was suddenly very serious, and he even lay a hand on Grell's shoulder to attract the utmost attention. "Never, under any circumstance, trust a demon."

"But why?"

"Why? Because they cannot be trusted, as simple as that." Will stated as plain as day.

"I meant, _why _can't they be trusted?" the darker haired man shut his eyes in thought for a moment. Scenes from the last battle between Grell and the demon butler appeared in his mind. Visions of blood, and pain.

"Do you remember when he discovered that you were Jack the Ripper, Grell?" the redhead nodded, with a smile none-the-less. "Do you remember the look in his eyes on that night? Filled with hunger, and desire…desire to tear you apart? What do you think would have happened had I not been there, Grell?" Grell thought a moment then replied,

"I'm sure it would have been ok. Maybe some more scrapes and bruises, but nothing I couldn't take care of." he grinned, clearly not getting the picture. The perpetual frown on William's face deepened.

"No, Grell." he said without any room for argument. "Had I not showed up he would have ripped you limb from limb, enjoying every moment of it. A demon likes nothing better than to devour souls. They are eternally hungry, and I can imagine that a death god's soul would be quite delicious to him."

"And how would you know that? Have you ever eaten the soul of another god of death?" Grell asked, raising a sceptical eyebrow.

"No. I am not a demon, and therefore I do not partake in such disgusting eating habits." Will said coldly, eyes distancing from Grell who was still casting him a doubtful look.

"But…" he said softly, "I _know _that that is what demons do. I've seen it happen." Green orbs widened at those words, and suddenly the redhead's attention turned, undivided to his superior whose gaze was still far off.

"What…?" To Grell, it was almost incomprehensible that anyone could do such a thing as devour a soul. Demon, or not it was…it was as William had said; disgusting.

"To who?"

"The careless ones." Will said quickly, the slightest tremor in his voice. "The ones who were still human enough to trust. To believe." With eyes still wide, the other man shook his head at the complete loss of words for what his boss way saying. It was as though he was trapped in memories, and those memories were speaking.

"Demons take on many forms. Attractive women, helpless children…or in your case…a butler." the way he spoke of them was with bitterness, and Grell had a feeling that William was not revealing as much as he knew about Sebastian, or any other creature from hell.

"They _will _try to seduce you," he continued, bringing a hand to his chin in thought. "Try to lull you into their presence, gain your trust and then, when they have you," there was a long, tension filled paused. "They kill you."

. . .

_Author's note: Alright, thank you in advanced for everyone who reviewed! This should turn out to be quite the lengthy story, perhaps longer than any I have written. I guess it will still have humour in it, but also a lot of mystery, and suspense as the story progresses. _

_Oh yes, and Mr. Devereux (head of the England Division) is a character I quite liked creating. I imagined him as fairly attractive, though a bit frail looking…almost like he's out of place as the head of a division but everyone treats him with the utmost respect. The name 'Devereux' actually comes from the names of one of the towers in the Tower of London. The 'tower' is actually a fortress made up of over 20 separate towers. I'll be visiting it this summer so hopefully that can add to my writing._

_That's all for now_

_Ps- if there are tons of errors I apologise. I posted this two minutes before I had to leave for school so I'll revise when I get home._

_~Savvi_


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: My apologies that these author's notes are always so long, but I have a lot to say. Okay, not really, I just like to ramble. Anyway, back to what I was originally going to say. I guess you could say that I've taken a few…er…liberties? When it came to writing this chapter. As far as the divisions of England, and who runs what, and how stuff works in the worlds of death gods, and demons. Blah. I also want to note that the summary of my story sounds a lot like another story by Red Butler called "The Most Beautiful Sin". I want to apologise for that, and assure you that I'm not trying to copy that story. It will be different, I promise._

_Happy Valentines Day/Chinese New Year!_

_. . . _

Strong silence filled the room the moment after those words were spoken. He couldn't believe it. How could Sebastian, so prim and proper, so well-mannered and hospitable do something like that. Trick a being into a contract in order to devour his poor victim's soul in the end. Grell could not believe it, he _would _not believe it. It simply was not possible that the man he adored so much could be such a monster.

"You're lying to me, aren't you?" he said, only not in a voice that was loud and accusing. No. The voice was small, and meek, filled with doubt, yet at the same time, knowledge. He knew very well that what William was saying was true. Still, the stubborn part of himself would not allow him to accept such slander.

"I wouldn't lie about such disgusting creatures, Grell."

"Yes you would!" he responded rather loudly.

"What reason would I have to lie? Have you any idea how difficult those damn demons make my job?" Grell cringed a bit as William raised his voice. "With their little contracts, and careless appetites they filled up hell with the empty souls of lost humans." Will shook his head, turning away from the other reaper.

"Humans like power, and the more of them that want it, the more souls are sent to eternal damnation. When hell fills up…earth becomes the new hell…as I'm sure you're discovering…" he finished quietly. Grell noticed that there was something still distant about William's gaze. His eyes stared straight, yet did not see anything in front of them. There was something more to his hatred for demons than he was letting on and that was for certain. For the time, though, Grell had grown bored with the conversation. His attention span only allowed so much time on one particular topic, and soon he was staring out the window dreamily.

It took William a moment to notice that Grell was no longer talking, and, (he had to admit) he felt a bit disappointed. After all, he had almost convinced him that demons were no good. He was _so _close, but alas, no. No, Grell's obsession with Sebastian would continue, and all Will could do was stomach it to the best of his ability.

"Mr. Sutcliffe, what _are _you still doing here, anyway?" he asked with a sigh. Although he would never admit it, having Grell around was not too much of an inconvenience. Grell's attention loomed from the kitchen window that overlooked a small strip of grass that was the 'garden', to the darker haired man.

"I don't know." he said simply, voice as peppy as ever. "Why do you ask?"

"I wanted to know."

"Well?"

"Well, what?" Will asked, eyebrows furrowing. Grell shrugged. This was getting them nowhere. Will took a deep breath before he spoke.

"I cannot believe that I am saying this," he paused , "but…what would you like to do today? We already were given the day off, and there is no way that I will let you wander the city by yourself." The way Grell's eyes lit up at those words was almost frightening.

"Really? You mean that I get to spend the whole, _entire_ day with you?" he grinned.

"I suppose since we already have the day off…" William said again. The real reason was that he didn't want to escort Grell back to the death god realm and be confronted with all sorts of questions involving the previous night's murder. He hadn't even _seen _the casework yet, but by the talk of things, it wasn't pretty. "Going back would cause more problems." and then it dawned on him that Grell was not supposed to be in the human realm, so he quickly added,

"As far as everyone else knows, you did _not _spend the night here last night, understand? And you most certainly not spend the day here."

"Right, just like I did _not _get a kiss from you~" as a grin spread across Grell's face, the frown on William's deepened.

"I'm being serious. If anyone asks you about what happened you are to respond by telling them that you do not know, because you were at home not feeling well."

"Can't I think of a better excuse? How about 'because the evil, cruel, William T. Spears dumped loads of paperwork on me and I was working'" he raised a dramatic hand to his eyebrow.

"If I'm so cruel then why did you insist on coming over last night?" William asked, suppressing the urge to strike the other man with his scythe. Grell winked, and stood uncomfortably close to him. The scene of whatever perfume he's been wearing the previous night still lingered.

"Because, William dear, we made a bet, and I won."

"Still, why would you make a bet with someone if you didn't _want _the prize to begin with."

"Whoever said I didn't want to spend time with you?" Grell asked, mood quickly shifting from happy to shocked.

"I believe that you just called me 'evil' and 'cruel' and why would you want to spend time with someone like that?" Will asked, the look of complete seriousness never fading from his features. Grell paused, and gazed at him for a moment as though to gauge whether or not he was joking. When it was clear that he wasn't, the redhead started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Did you really think I was serious, William?" Grell asked between laughs.

"Did I have a reason to assume that you were joking?" he shot back defensively, which only made the other man laugh harder.

"Oh, William~ You would think that…No, although you are serious, a workaholic, unfriendly, cold, and antisocial-,"

"That'll do, Sutcliffe." Will interrupted not really wanting to know any other adjectives that could be used to describe himself.

"I was going to say that, even though you are all those things, I made that bet with you because I actually did want to see you, William~" he said softly in a manner that was very un-Grell like. In fact, Will was not quite sure of how to respond to such a comment. Part of him was flattered that someone had actually wanted to spend time with him, and another part was confused as to why he had gone through so many complicated procedures to do so. Couldn't he have simply _asked _like a normal person? Odds were that William would have said…Okay, maybe that stupid bet was Grell's only chance to actually get the other man to spend time with him. Still, why would he _want_ to. That's what William still wanted to know.

"Why did you want to see me?" he asked, trying not to sound too curious.

"Oh, William, so blind, so naïve." the annoyance the Will was feeling towards Grell was increasing exponetially. He didn't like when the troublemaker chose to be so vagure when it came to answers.

"Would you please enlighten me as to what on earth you are talking about?" William growled, not finding it to his liking that Grell knew something that he did not. With another step closer to his superior, so that Grell was almost touching him, he said with a small smile,

"Because I like you." that was an unsatisfactory answer.

"Well, I assumed that much." he said, pushing the glasses up the bridge of his nose. The smile faded from Grell's face, and he shook his head.

"Never mind, you don't understand…" he said softly, but the tone of his voice gave much more away than he had intended to. Will felt a strange feeling creep over him. Something like when he went to bed laying on his arm, only to wake up and discover that it had fallen asleep. He shook his head as though that would clear his thoughts, then fixed his gaze absent mindedly on the other man. Grell noticed the look that his superior was giving him, and he quickly changed the subject. "So, William?"

"Yes?" He said, suddenly startled back into reality.

"What are the plans for today?"

_. . . _

_Thanks for reading all of you. I'm so happy that this story took off! I know this chapter was a bit short, but I needed some fluffly filler for Valentines day. Loved it, or hated it please review? _


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Well, here is chapter six. So sorry that it took this long to update. Really, I am…_

* * *

As it would turn out the 'plans for the day' would include sorting through old case work that William just so happened to have taken with him on his assignment. So there they sat in the parlour, stacks of files and papers piled high in front of them.

"This is so boring!" Grell announced after looking over the paperwork for a victim of the black plague. "Why do you even _have _these? It's not like these are your cases." Golden eyes glanced up from behind dark rimmed glasses, then went back to skimming over the page.

"Even I know that you're not old enough to have lived through some of this stuff!" Grell said, flinging aside the files of several women who had been executed on the grounds of witchcraft.

"Your point would be?" Will said with an annoyed sigh.

"My _point _is why are we going through dusty old files that have nothing to do with us when we could be doing something else?" there was no response to Grell's argument, only the sound of more papers being rustled. Will tried hard to concentrate on the page in front of him, but he could feel emerald eyes burning holes through him.

"Stop that." he said.

"Stop what?"

"Staring at me. It's rude." Grell frowned, extending a finger towards his superior.

"I wasn't _staring _I was _observing_." he noted, "And besides, _you're _the one being rude here, William T. Spears."

"How so?" Will shot back defensively. Grell thought a moment, not really expecting a response.

"Well…I'm the guest here, and you should not be making guests help you sort through old paperwork." He knew that he was taking a chance with such a bold response, but William had said it himself; he was in no mood to escort Grell back home.

Without warning, William stood up, sending the papers that had been on his lap scattering to the floor in the process. Grell cringed, and for a moment he thought that the other reaper was going to strike him.

"You are only a guest here given the circumstances of last night. I plan to take you home at precisely seven o'clock tonight when all of the commotion has quieted." his words may as well have been his scythe, for they hurt just as much. "Furthermore, I would not be in this mess had I not made that bet with you. Two hours was the deal, and it's been nearly two days. You are in no place to make demands, Sutcliffe."

More silence. Tears began to bubble over the rims of Grell's eyes, dripping down his cheeks as he blinked. Maybe Will had been to harsh just then…but then he reminded himself that Grell deserved a scolding once in a while. He could not simply get away with everything as he had been lately. Will turned to face away from him, crossing his arms over his chest. If the other man wanted to play this game and use his pitiful tears as his weapon then he would simply ignore him.

"You're…" Grell sniffed, "You're so cruel!" there was another loud rustling of papers as the redhead stood up, and pushed passed Will on his way to the door. It suddenly struck Will that he was intending on leaving, and a wave of guilt swept over him. He hadn't been any more "cruel" than normal, had he?

"Er…Wait!" he said after a moment of hesitance. Whether he had been too harsh on the man or not, he could not allow Grell to simply walk outside looking like he did. Will walked out of the parlour, and to the front door which was standing wide open. Too late. He cursed in his head, and walked outside, not entirely sure that his sanity was still intact.

He had never thought about it, but other than the fact that Grell Sutcliffe was a reaper in the London division, he really had no other ties to the gender confused god of death. It was not as though the man was his sole responsibility in the association. It was not even as though they were friends…so why did he suddenly feel the need to run after him? Will shook his head, nearly tripping down the front steps in haste to catch up with the other man.

Fortunately, Grell was not hard to spot as a red blur dashing down the street. Will quickly picked up his own pace, running after the man.

"Wait!" he shouted again, not paying much attention to the people he pushed past in the streets. "Wait up!" he was scarcely sure that his words would reach Grell but thankfully, he was catching up to him.

"Please, come back here!" at those words the redhead slowed down a bit. Either that or has was tired from running. Will kept up his sprinting, finally within hearing distance.

"Grell!" he said, finally stopping in front of the other man on the street corner. His eyes darted down the road, noting a few people staring at them. Grell turned from the other man, but there was no way Will was going to let him escape again. He grasped Grell's wrist with one hand, and panted for air after the chase. Perhaps he was not in a great of shape as he had thought.

"You…you can't just run off like that…do you hear me…?" he said between breaths. Although he would never admit it to himself, there was a great deal of worry in Will's voice.

"I was only going to go back home…" Grell responded, not nearly as winded as the darker haired man. "That's what you wanted, right?" Will felt his heart tighten. When Grell put it like that it made him seem like a complete monster.

"I never said that and you know it." he said defensively, which only caused Grell to pull away. Clearly, harsh words were not working. Will sighed, not fully believing the words he was about to say.

"I'm sorry." The comment caught Grell by surprise, and he looked up as though he wasn't sure if he had heard them.

"What?"

"I said that I'm sorry…I…I didn't mean to…snap at you like I did. Please accept my apology." he extended a hand towards his subordinate who gave him a very confused expression. Then, without warning he jumped up and threw his arms around his superior's shoulders, nearly sending them both flying to the ground.

"Of _course _I forgive you, Will~" he said, holding the other man tighter. Instead of trying to escape, Will simply wrapped his arms around Grell for a moment, then let go feeling rather foolish.

"Yes…well…is there anything that you would like to do today?" A devilish smile played on Grell's lips and he scooted uncomfortable close to Will who stepped away.


	7. Chapter 7

_-So here we are, fighting and trying to hide the scars_

_I'll be home tonight. Take a breath, and softly say goodbye-_

_His world was almost black, but in the darkness there was a light. A soft, foreign yet familiar hand on his shoulder, and a quiet voice ghosting his ear._

"_Will?" _

"_Tiffany?" he whispered. The fingertips that had been running across his back ceased, and soft whimpering took their place. _

"_W-Will…I've waited here for so long…I-I thought you would never come back." _

"_Back?" he turned around to scan his surroundings, and found them hauntingly familiar. _

_A small bedroom, furnished with only a bed scarcely big enough for two, and bottles of empty whiskey littering the floor. His eyes darted from the scene, to his late wife. She stood, trembling in front of him. Her skin had turned from its normal porcelain complexion to a light shade of grey. A sickening smile played about her lips._

"_Why have you brought me here?" he said, hiding his fear between clenched teeth. _

"_Don't you remember, Will?" Will closed his eyes, recalling images of Tiffany with a bottle grasped in her hand, coming home late. "Our little girl died, Will." her smile widened, and she ran her fingers through his charcoal black hair._

"_She died, Will, and it's your fault." _

"_No! It wasn't!" he shouted, immediately finding that Tiffany was no longer by his side. Instead she was a disembodied voice that seemed to call from all directions. He trembled, continuing to whisper to himself,_

"_No…no…it wasn't my fault…I couldn't have known…Marie…I did all I could…Christ, it wasn't my fault!" he screamed, tearing a few strands of hair up by their roots. Tiffany's voice laughed a little before saying,_

"_Tell yourself that, Will. Go on, trick yourself into believing."_

_Will turned to look for her, feeling his chest grow heavier with every passing second. He was suffocating, peripheral vision quickly turning black around him. His eyes widened, fighting the darkness threatening to consume him, but it was no use. He slipped under, searching his mind for his last dying thoughts._

"_Your fault…"_

"Will! William~" someone…no some_thing _was calling to him from the outside world. Slowly his vision came swimming back in a sea of red. This was because standing directly over him was one Grell Sutcliffe.

"Oh, thank goodness you're awake!" Before he could protest, he was in a Grell-induced hug. He could smell the distinct scent of vanilla and roses on the other's skin, making him want to gag.

"Mr. Sutcliffe! Mr….Grell!" he shouted, shoving the red-reaper off of him, then smoothing out his hair. "What are you doing?" Grell pouted, drawing his arms in closer before responding,

"I was worried about you, Will…" he sniffed.

"Don't you dare start to cry." Will grumbled, falling back on what he discovered to be a mattress. "What happened, anyway?"

Grell cocked his head to the left. _Almost like a puppy_, Will thought when he didn't get a direct response. Of course, Grell seldom answered questions without going off on some irrelevant tangent.

"You mean…you don't remember?"

"If I remembered would I be asking you?" Grell shrugged, took a deep breath, and began to explain the current situation.

"Well…" he began, stopping shortly after that.

"Well, what?"

"It'd be helpful if I knew what you _did _remember." Will's eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh for goodness sake! All I remember is you complaining that I was boring, eventually stopping by the pub for a few drinks and then Tiff-," he stopped short, the same crushing feeling as was in his dream crashing over him once more.

"Who?" Grell asked "Does William have some secret girlfriend that I don't know about! Oh! How scandalous!" he laughed, exposing shark-like teeth.

"No, I don't…All I remember was going to the pub for a drink and that's all." Will recovered himself, though in the back of his mind he could hear Tiffany's words hissing at him. Grell frowned, clearly disappointed by the fact that his friend had no stories to share with him.

"Oh…well if that's all…" he sighed before continuing.

"Well, you sort of _passed out _at the pub…so I carried you here!" He smiled. Will wanted to disappear that instant. The mere thought that Grell had been carrying his lifeless body through the streets of London was enough to make him consider an early retirement.

"Anyway, you had a fever so I changed you into something a bit cooler…and you've kinda been talking in your sleep." Grell finished speaking as though he was checking off a grocery list. Will's face had turned three shades of red. He did his best to stay composed, and asked in a quiet tone,

"What exactly did I _say _in my sleep." For a second time, Grell shrugged.

"Nothing juicy, if that's what you're wondering…although I heard the name Tiffany a few times…and Marie?" his stomach dropped, and rose again in his throat.

"Stop." he growled, and again Grell tensed up. "I don't want to hear anymore." against his better judgement, the redhead asked,

"Why?" Golden eyes glared daggers at him, but he didn't budge. "Who were they? Two secret lovers perhaps?" a wicked little grin spread across Grell's face as he spoke.

Will wanted to strike his subordinate. He wanted to wring his neck until he could no longer speak. Wanted to…to…let go and tell him everything in some hopes that his late wife would no longer haunt his nightmares.

"No," he said quietly, eyes cast downwards. Grell sat on the bed, leaning in close to hear his superior's words. "Tiffany was my wife, and Marie was our daughter."

"Will…I had no idea that you were _married_." Grell murmured in a tone far more shocked than flirtatious.

"Yes, well I _was._" it was clear by Grell's wide-eyed gaze, and restless fingers drumming across the sheets that he wanted to know more. However, he held his tongue, having the feeling that he would avoid being struck if he did.

"But…it doesn't matter…not anymore." he faded off into a whisper, eyes leaving to some distant memory of a woman with porcelain skin, a gentle smile, and a little girl with charcoal black hair. "I'm sorry, Marie."

"What was that?" once again, Grell's voice cut off his thoughts. Perhaps it was for the better.

"Nothing. It was nothing." Will said, suddenly swinging his pyjama covered legs over the side of the bed. He spun his head around, half-expecting to find himself in the bedroom from his dreams. Alas, no. Instead he found himself in his temporary dwelling in the city.

"You said that I had a fever?" Grell nodded with a small grin.

"Yes, you did. Don't worry, though! I took good care of you while you were out!"

"How long was I asleep?" Will asked with sudden panic. The other reaper shrugged, and replied,

"Just a few hours. It's still the same day." He breathed a sigh of relief before standing upright. Grell mimicked the action, smoothing out the front of his vest in the process. After a few moments of silence, Will adjusted his glasses and said,

"Well then, I suppose it is time for me to escort you home." Grell's shoulders sank. He muttered a small,

"I guess so…" then let his gaze drop to the floor.

"Allow me to change and I will meet you by the door." Will announced. The redhead nodded, exiting the room without being told to do so.

_-So why are you so eager to betray?_

_So why are you the one that walks away?-_

* * *

_Author's Note: I know this chapter was pretty short, but I didn't want to combine this one and the next one since they take place in two different realms. By the way, lyrics at the top and bottom of the page are from the song "Here We Are" by Breaking Benjamin. They are my primary writing music. Thank you to all of those who have review thus far! _

_Watching the fantasies decay_

_Nothing will ever stay the same_

_All of the love we threw away_

_And all of the hopes we cherished fade_


End file.
